Joyeuses Pâques! (Smokey se trompe de déguisement… et de fête aussi…)(Smokey mixes up the costumes… and the holiday, too…) Braise (left): Mon fils… My son…. Smokey (right): C'est moi-même. That's me. Braise: Quand je t'ai demandé d'aller chercher les déguisements… When I asked you to go and get the costumes…. …Je voulais dire LES OREILLES DE LAPIN. I meant the BUNNY EARS. Braise: "Hula Girls," c'est … Continue reading Happy Easter in French
Out of the rubble a wine is born! Jean-Marc gave more than heart and soul when he made his first wine: he gave his blood, his tears, and an alarming number of kilos. I talk about this, and more, in an interview about the organic winemaker on French TV. il paraît (eel-pah-ray) : it seems, it appears synonyms: on dit (they say) or … Continue reading il parait + video interview on French TV
One of the dumbest things about moving to France is leaving your sister behind. Today, mine celebrates a birthday and I won't be there to take her picture as she blows out her candles. But with any luck she'll have received the funny postcard I sent which brings me to the theme of today's missive: mailboxes! la boîte à lettres (bwat-ah-letr) : mailbox, … Continue reading mailbox in French + mailbox photos!
The faded painted sign above reads “Cafe de la Mairie”. (photo taken in Visan) I am pairing today’s story–which takes place at fashion school–with window fashion. Enjoy the colorful scenes that decorate this edition and please consider forwarding it to a friend. un en-cas (or encas, pronounced “on-kah”) : snack French definition: Repas léger en cas de besoin. Light meal in case of need. … Continue reading How to say snack in French?
A scooter in St. Tropez. Look closely at the sagging object my husband is carrying. Meet Mr. Sacks, Jean-Marc's lovable sidekick. The photos in the following story were taken over the years…. Today's Word: la sacoche (sah-kohsh) : handbag, saddlebag, purse, bag from the Italian saccoccia, or "little pocket" la sacoche en cuir = leather bagla sacoche d'écolier = school bagla sacoche à … Continue reading Sacoche – how to say satchel or briefcase (or “man purse”) in French
"A path of one's own." Our daughter Jackie in 2005, in Queyras. Keep marching toward your dream, My Girl, and don't forget to enjoy the sights along the way! More about our recent pep talk in today's story column. Forward it to a struggling student. (Note: the sign reads "block party".) A few seats are still available at the Washington DC wine dinner with Jean-Marc … Continue reading c’est déjà pas mal
Only scarecrows are immune to canker sores. The rest of us are sitting ducks! (photo taken in the Queyras Valley, in the French Hautes-Alpes) If you are new to this word journal, I hope not to scare you away with an ugly first word. (You could always skip to the story column and learn sores–I mean scores–of flowery vocabulary…) I've been nursing a burning and … Continue reading Semence: Sowing seeds for a French flower garden
""The rare Frenchman who uses the crosswalk" Computer is back and so are some long-lost photos from years ago! Youpie! Yay! une béquille (beh-kee) : crutch, stand; kickstand (bike) Audio File: listen to Jean-Marc pronounce the following expressions: Download MP3 or Wav file Elle marche avec des béquilles. She walks with crutches.mettre une moto, un vélo sur sa béquille = to put a motorbike or bike … Continue reading How to say crutch or crutches in French
My computer is still in the fix-it shop. Sorry to not be able to add the usual audio/sound feature. It'll be back soon — in time to bring you more authentic pronunciations from Jean-Marc. Don't you love his voice? (photo of lighthouses in Brittany. A little tiny more about Brittany–or the Breton language–in today's column, where we talk about the name "Tanguy" and much much … Continue reading vouloir dire & what does “Tanguy syndrome” mean in French?
Still pinching images from Google image search (I promise I took these!) after my computer crashed one week ago (typing this post on my son's PC)…. This photo was snapped in St. Tropez. Its artist theme fits with today's story of the "tree artists" (or pirates, rather…). Read on, in today's column. chaparder (sha-par-day) to pinch, to lift, to steal A DAY IN A … Continue reading chaparder
